sim unlock

Is my phone's bootloader unlocked? Is it SIM unlocked? What's the difference, and why is any of this important?
Unlocked. It's a word you'll see used a lot on websites about mobile technology, and most people writing about it will be sure to let you know that it is a good thing™. And it is (See? told 'ya). But unlocked can mean different things — that are all good things — depending on what,...

The top five carriers in the United States will on Feb. 11 implement new unlocking procedures for smartphones, tablets, and other cellular devices sold on their networks. The new unlocking standards were set forth by the CTIA in late 2013 and, though a voluntary commitment by the carriers, define the conditions under which carriers must unlock your devices — and it's all looking good for the...

Samsung Galaxy Avant the only phone able to use it
Some big news out of T-Mobile tonight — it's released a SIM unlock app that will allow a phone to work on other GSM networks.
The catch? (Of course there's a catch.) As of this moment, it's only available for the Samsung Galaxy Avant — a low-ender that's just a coupe hundred bucks. (We were able to install it with ease on a couple other...

American carriers are making progress in being more open and customer-friendly — particularly T-Mobile — but Sprint is preparing to take a significant step forward by ensuring that the devices they sell to customers are able to be SIM unlocked. Eventually. In 2015. In an FAQ on Sprint's unlocking policy, the company states that they are "working to ensure that all devices developed and launched...

A bit of big (albeit nerdy) news last week came from the FCC and CTIA, wherein the governmental entity in charge of all those public airwaves and the wireless industry's advocacy group announced a set of standards for allowing us (the customers) to SIM unlock our phones.
Theoretically, that's a big deal because removing those locks is the first step in being able to use any phone on any network...

Some good news today in the fight for making it legal to SIM-unlock your phone without having to go through an operator. The White House has swiftly responded to the petition that garnered the support of more than 114,000 people, with a pretty crystal clear subject line -- "It's time to legalize cell phone unlocking."
That's a pretty powerful step in the right direction, but it doesn't actually...

Some good news for the fight against tyrannical cell phone regulation. The official White House petition calling for the Librarian of Congress to rescind the decision to allow a DMCA exemption allowing entities other than the operators to SIM unlock phones ... take a deep breath -- that was a mouthful ... has eclipsed 100,000 signatures, meaning we'll likely see some sort of response from the...

Is your Android phone's bootloader unlocked? Is it SIM unlocked? What's the difference?
There's been a bit of confusion in the blogs the past few days over unlocking phones. Maybe you're wondering about an unlocked bootloader. Or maybe you need something that's SIM unlocked. Or maybe you want to unlock your phone's bootloader, but you can't, because it's encrypted.
It's confusing, we know....

In the realm of GSM smartphones, there's a phenomenon known as "SIM unlocked," which is the ability to use any SIM card in a phone, meaning you can easily swap from carrier to carrier. And it's pretty rare in the United States. If you buy a myTouch 3G, it's locked to T-Mobile. Same goes for the Motorola Backflip on AT&T. They're both GSM phones and share radio frequencies, but they're locked...

With the launch of the Nexus One on T-Mobile, the spotlight has been cast on "unlocked" GSM phones of late, or how to unlock a phone. (The short version is you need a code.) It's not a huge deal in the United States, especially because T-Mobile and AT&T don't use the same 3G radio frequencies, so swapping isn't too terribly common, but it does happen. But if you're going overseas and want to...

If you were around a computer connected to the Internet yesterday you may have noticed a flurry of news items and posts detailing the unlock of the T-Mobile G1. Hey, we're all for freedom and openness here at Android Central and unlocking your G1 is an extension of that ideal. We support you unlockers.
But what's funny to us is: We. Already. Unlocked. The. G1. A week ago. And we were nice...

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